Considering the lack of Brazilian studies on the relationship between participation in the labor market and health-related quality of life (HRQL) in women, the objectives were to verify whether there is an association between paid work versus no paid work and HRQL in women, and whether socioeconomic status modifies this association. This was a population-based cross-sectional study with a sample of 668 women 18 to 64 years of age from the Campinas Health Survey (ISACamp 2008/2009), using SF-36 to assess HRQL. Being a housewife was associated with worse HRQL, especially in mental domains, but this association was modified by socioeconomic status. In the middle and low schooling and family income strata, housewives showed worse HRQL than paid women workers, but there was no difference between the two groups in the high schooling and high income strata. Housewives' worse HRQL emphasizes the importance of public policies to expand opportunities for women's participation in the labor market and access to education.328